a. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to analysis of transmission systems of integrated circuits and more particularly to analysis of transmission systems of integrated circuits at frequencies greater than 1 GHz.
b. Description of the Background
Transmission systems of integrated circuits are often analyzed before they are fabricated to ensure the desired characteristics will appear in the final design. When a system is designed to use a clock circuit with a frequency below 1 GHz, a software tool such as Hspice or Ansoft Q3D is commonly used to estimate system parameters and ensure the system will provide the desired results before mass-manufacturing the system.
Below 1 GHz, frequency dependent parameters, that have a negligible effect at low frequencies, often become significant concerns at higher frequencies. If the effect of these parameters is not reflected in the system design, the effect may remain hidden from system designers and users until the system has been manufactured. Correcting such an unexpected effect after manufacture may cause problems for the system manufacturer.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a method of analyzing an integrated-circuit system that is more accurate at high frequencies. It would further be advantageous if such a method could predict problems at high frequencies that do not occur at lower frequencies.